Fountain pen



E. 5. SEARS FOUNTAIN PEN Dec. 18, 1951 Filed Dec. 3l. 1947 .EDMRD STL'PHE/Y SEARS Aww mh.. Q m 7%/ Patented Dec. 18, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE FOUNTAIN PEN Edward Stephen Sears, ushey Health, England,

assigner to MaisieE rLodd & Company Limited,

London, England, ai BritishV company Application necemer 31, 1947,- serial No. 794,901

In Great Britain June 15, 1945 l, y Y

This invention relates to sac self-'filling foune tain pens' of the type vin whichY actuation of the sac is eilected from the rear of the barrel (i. e: the endt of the' barrel remotev from the nib sec-- t'ion): by the aid' of a rotary knob or' button-.- '.heL present applicationt 's a continuation in partl of my Patent No. 2,554,641 dated May 29, 1951.- Sucl'r back-actuatedy sac pens of arcuate spring type possess a common disadvantage-#shared also by the' conventional sac-"collapsing lever located'lat aA side` of the barrel-in that', as the sac donating' pressure is' imposed onV or about the middle of the pressureA bar, complete evacua y accommodation of the feed" 3" and nib 3.A in loWil-l' ti'on" of air from the sacL is not feasible, as; there is always a certain space Withinl the sac' inv the" vicinity ofv its closed en'd not occupied by'- ink.

The present invention aims tol improve saev self-lling fountain' pens of the aforesaid char# acter'in` which" the sac compression means is projected Within the' pen barrel whereupon the sac "f is progressively' compressed and dx-z-flafted-y from its closed end substantially throughout its entire length and" yet enables' economy in manufacture with an appreciable reduction" in stresses and'v ten'- sio'n` of theA sac' actuating parts' and sac, thereby prolonging the eiicient working life of the' pen.

I will further describe my invention with the aid of the accompanying sheetv of explanatory-l drawingswhich illustrate; byl way of example and: not' of limitation, one' mode of carrying' same into effect.

In said drawings--v Fig. l` is' a longitudinal View, partly inI eleva-` tion and' partly in' section, of the pen prior to d'e'ation ofthe sac.

Figs. 2 and" 3' areA similarvi'ews, Fig. 2A show'- ing'th'e sac' partially deflated', and" Fig. @showing the' sac' fully donated.

Fig; 4' is' a plan view' of' thel presserplate; and

Fig; 5` is a sectional elevation of the presser plat'e drawn to' an enlarged scale. Figs. 6 and' 'l are plan and elevation respectively of the sa'c actuating' tailY bar' forming a part of thel presentpen'; Fig'. 8 is' an enlarged' perspective' View: of' the' presser platecarrier;

A pen body' or' barrel I is'bored to suitable-size manner; This' bore is enlarged at the opposite or shank end toa suit'al'nledepth and size', and'- is" screw-threaded' to freely receive a threaded plug- Sf. Said holder-.bore shank 'Iii is counter-sunk?,- a's' shown, at the end remote from' the nib 3 at' a' suitable angle.

The' sac-actuating knob 4, which may be' roughened' or knurled, is made`- to` conform with the o'u't'erv shape of body at' the: end remote from' the" nih, the` stepped portion or shank of the knob4 Being' threaded to correspond' with the' screw' threaded passage of plug 2:, in which it should move freely. Said externally threaded portion 4W of knob" 4' isbored and internally forms' a continuation of' a recess 9b provided for* the' reception' of the( open endy of sac' fl and` at" an angle corresponding toth'at in the nib holder; and; a countersink 9c at a corresponding angle,Y may' berna'dein the upper side1 of this enlarged part of the plugv to' facilitate` ink dow' from; sac 'I'.

Saidpresser-platev carrier, in one convenient construction, andjasm'ost' clearly shown in Fig; 8?,

may be' formedV from a singlelengthvw ofV Wire'- ofv suitablediameter andv suieientl-y malleable' forshaping, and preferably' protected by plating, o'i' the like; Its-'coguration approximatesAtoc ay trapezoid Withl top portion 5a at rig-ht I anglesv withL the tw'o sides 55 one of which is' shorter than th'eother: the bottom member 5'y forms aI slope or' angle toy'va'rds` thev nib. The top ia or palrtf of the'carrie'r adjacent the threaded end of knob? 4Y is looped at' itscehtre, or, in other words, one endE offtheV length off' Wire is looped to freely' receive a headed@ carrier-screw' is.' secured' in: saidl sec-Y the form shown, the free end of the wire of which it is composed finishing on the opposite side of the loop; and in a preferred formation, this latter end is left unattached as it may be found that attachment is not essential with the incorporation of washers I4. This free end of the carrier makes for ease of assembly with regard to presser-plate 6, and also allows for a certain amount of adaptation, as the carrier should, preferably, be a sliding fit in the bore of the body to obviate fouling or undue gripping on the wa'll of the bore, whilst being to a certain extent adaptable to the size of the bore.

The presser-plate S may be of known form, in so far as the usual narrow ribs 6b (Figs. 4 and 5) longitudinally and at right angles with its face are concerned. One end of said plate is drilled through at I5 (Fig. 4) and is adapted for free movement when attached to the sloping or angled part 5 of the trapezoidal plate carrier.

cut to leave a plain shank IIIa adjacent its head,V

and the length of the shank should correspond with the combined thickness of the presser-plate carrier wire and washers I4, plus aslight tolerance. Upon tightening the screw I3 the loop 5EL is held against rotation by means of the washers I4. `As .the fiat surface of the plate e rests upon the sac II the latter prevents its rotation and as this plate is attached to the carrier the screw IG is also retained against rotation, but the latter may move back and forth within the barrel upon the rotation of the knob 4.

There is also formed or provided on the inner end of said knob screw 4a a collar IB which, by abutment against the plug 2 secured within the bore of barrel I, limits the outward travel of knob screw 4a and so of knob 4.

In a sac-charging operation, when the rear knob 4, 4a is unscrewed outward to deiiate sac I I, the secondary fast pitch screw Ulis projected forwardly toward the nib end of the pen, and the adjacent end of presser-plate S slides along the inclined portion 5s ofthe carrier from the long to the short side to deflate the closed end of the sac by reason of the abutment of the tail bars extremity against nib holder 1; further ance of the sacsl collapse being effected by the consequential angular movement and bending of the tail bar (on the continued unscrewing of knob 4) which carries the front end of presser plate 6 across the body bore to complete the deflation of the sac. Screwing of knob 4 back. to its normal position causes the movement of parts to be reversed and a charge of ink is thus induced into sac Il. The tail bar 6a shown most clearly in Figs. 6 and 7 is in the form of a light leaf spring having one end Iie in stop abutment with the inner face of the shank 1a of the nib holder as best shown in Fig. l, and its opposite end extends within the barrel over a portion of the sac II. This end of the tail bar may be attached to one end of the pressure plate 6 in any convenient manner, but, preferably this end of the tail bar has formed'therewith a pair of end lugs 6d insertable through corresponding loop portions 6 formed in the pressure plate 6. The leaf spring or bar I5a is of a width whereby it will fit snugly within the channel-way formed` by the ribs 6b of the plate 6 so as to limit the slide play of one within the other. Saidend lugs Iid of tail bar iia when inserted through loop portions 6 of the pressure plate 6 connect the two together and yet effect a hinged connection therebetween so that during the collapsing of the sac these components 6 and I5a will at rst assume the position as shown in Fig. 2 and on nal collapsing of the sac, assume the position as shown in Fig. 3 whereat, due to the pressure upon the fixed bar 6a, it will bend due to its spring construction and the hinged connection with the pressure plate 6. will cause the latter to lie ilat with the collapsed sac.

Assuming that the end of the presser-plate 6 attached to its angled carrier 5a, 5b, 5C, is X and the opposite end is Y, the complete movement of the presser plate will be X-Y on the outward travel of knob 4, and Y-X on the return movement of the knob, thus achieving a natural movement of sac deflation and inflation.

In said X-Y, Y--X movements, the Y travel across the body bore is approximately two and a half times faster than that of X along the angle 5 of the plate carrier. 'Ihis is an advantage in ink filling, as the sac is almost completely lled by the time the knob 4 is screwed home, thus rendering unnecessary the customary pause essential with sac self-filling pens of conventional construction before removing the pen from the ink.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that Various constructions within the scope of this invention, as set out in the claims, may be made to achieve theend in view.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A sac self-filling fountain pen comprising in combination a barrel, a nib holder closing one end 0f said barrel, a compressible sac within said barrel and connected to said nib holder, a threaded plug closing the opposite end of said barrel, a, knob rotatably connected to said threaded plug, a carrier connected to said knob whereby upon the rotation of the latter said carrier will be caused to move longitudinally in opposite directions within said barrel, an inclined bar formed with said carrier, a pressure plate resting upon and extending longitudinally of said sac, means for slidably connecting one end ofl 'sure plate to the lower end of said inclined bar and upon said sac to deate theV latter.

2. A sac self-filling fountain penl comprising in combination a hollow barrel, a nib holder closing one end of said barrel, a compressible sac within said barrel and connected to said nib holder, a knob rotatably connected to the opposite end of said barrel, a carrier connected to said knob whereby upon the rotation of the latter said carrier will be caused to move longitudinally in opposite directions within said barrel, an inclined bar formed with said carrier, a pressureA plate resting upon and extending longitudinally of said sac, a flexible tail bar connected to one end of said pressure plate and in stop abutment with said nibY holder, means for slidably connecting the opposite end of said pressure plate to said carrier whereby when said carrier is projected within said barrel by the rotation of said knob, said pressure plate is caused to slide upon the inclined bar of said carrier and said tail bar to buckle for progressively compressing and deflatingsaid sac from its closed end.

3. A sac self-filling fountain pen comprising in combination a barrel, a nib holder closing one end of said barrel, a compressible sac within said barrel and connected to said nib holder, a threaded plug Aclosing the opposite end of said barrel, a, knob rotatably connected to said threaded plug, a carrier associated with said knob whereby upon the rotation of the latter said carrier will be caused to move longitudinally in opposite directions within said barrel, an inclined bar formed with said carrier, a pressure plate resting upon and extending longitudinally of said sac and slidably connected at one end to said inclined bar, and a flexible tail bar connected to the opposite end of said pressure plate and in stop abutment Withsaid nib holder whereby when said carrier is projected within said barrel said flexible tail bar is caused to buckle to force said pressure plate to the lower end of said inclined bar and upon said sac to deflate the latter. l

4. A sac self-filling fountain pen comprising in combination a hollow barrel, a nib holder closing and extending longitudinally of said sac with one end extending beyond the closed end of the latter, a flexible tail bar, means for hingedly connecting said tail bar to one end of said pressure plate, a carrier of trapezoidal form secured to said secondary screw and having an inclined side slidable within an aperture of the other end of said pressure plate whereby upon the rotation of said knob in one direction said pressure plate and tail bar will progressively compress said sac for deating the same, and when said knob is rotated in an opposite direction said pressure plate and tail bar Will be released from compression engagement with said sac.

EDWARD STEPHEN SEARS.

REFERENCES' CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 785,653 Boman Mar. 2l, 1905 1,733,780 Deli et al Oct. 29, 1929 1,892,369 Tibaldi Dec. 27, 1932 2,377,444 Para June 5, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 109,032 Great Britain 1917 745,358 France Feb. 14, 1933 416,648 Great Britain 1934v 595,652 Great Britain Dec. 11, 1947 

